BRODIÆA UNIFLORA (51-52), CHIONODOXA SARDENSIS (53), ERYTHRONIUM DENS-CANIS (54-55)
When the Zonal Pelargoniums, Marguerites, Fuchsias, Lobelias, &c., have done their duty in the window boxes during the summer and autumn months, it is essential that something else must take their places for the winter and spring months, unless they are to be left bare. Dwarf shrubs, of course, like Aucubas, Golden Privet, Cupressus, Skimmias, &c., are much favoured, and rightly so. But in conjunction with them many kinds of bulbous plants may be used, and planted at the same time as the shrubs. Snowdrops and Crocuses are great favourites for the edges of boxes. Besides these, however, the beautiful blue-flowered Grape Hyacinths (Muscari), the Chionodoxas and Scilla sibirica, may be used in a similar way and with great effect, or as a carpet beneath the shrubs. If the latter are not placed too close together, space may be left for a few bulbs of Tulips and Daffodils to peep out between them.
Of course, window boxes filled entirely with bulbous plants would probably look much more artistic than those having a mixture of shrubs and bulbs. Combinations in miniature could be made in the same way as suggested for the open air beds on [p. 41]. Boxes planted with Polyanthuses, Primroses, Forget-me-Nots, Silene, White Arabis, Yellow Alyssum, Wallflowers, &c., as well as bulbs, would not look bare in autumn or winter, and would be very effective when in blossom in the spring time.
DESCRIPTIONS, CULTURE, PROPAGATION, &c., OF THE BEST BULBOUS PLANTS FOR THE OPEN AIR.
[ALLIUM.]—Although about 250 species of this liliaceous genus are known, only a dozen or so are usually met with in gardens—the limited number being probably due to the pungent and not altogether agreeable odour they emit when bruised or cut. In fact, the plants may be briefly described as more or less ornamental Onions, as they belong to the same family as this well-known esculent, and naturally possess a family likeness. The bulbs are tunicated, the leaves either flat as in the Leek, or roundish and hollow as in the ordinary Onion, while the 6-petalled starry flowers are borne in umbels on the top of the shoot that springs out of the bulb under the ground.
The kinds mentioned below flourish in ordinary good garden soil of a gritty nature, that has been deeply dug and well-manured. They are useful for the decoration of the flower border in bold patches, but are probably more natural in grass-land, where they can remain for several years undisturbed. The bulbs may be planted in early autumn, 3 or 4 inches deep—more or less according to the size of the bulbs, and will come into blossom from April and May, till July or August. As cut flowers, they are very ornamental, but unfortunately, they are not greatly used in this way owing to their odour, which some people find quite unbearable. Propagation is effected by means of offsets from the bulbs, or seeds. Two species—A. Moly, and A. neapolitanum—are often forced into early blossoms in the greenhouse, in the way mentioned at [p. 46.]
The following are the best kinds:—Neapolitanum, Erdeli (see [Plate 18], fig. 72), karataviense, triquetrum, ursinum, and zebdanense, all with white or whitish flowers; acuminatum, hirtiflorum, Macnabianum, narcissiflorum (or pedemontanum), Ostrowskianum, Schuberti, and Suworowi, representing rose, magenta, crimson, lilac, and purple shades; the best yellow-flowered kinds are, Moly ([Plate 17], fig. 68), flavum, and orientale; while coeruleum (or azureum) is the most attractive species with blue flowers. A. acuminatum is the dwarfest of these, being only about a foot high, the others rarely exceeding 1-1/2 to 2 feet, except perhaps hirtiflorum and Suworowi, which often are 3 feet high.
[AMARYLLIS] Belladonna (Belladonna Lily).—This charming member of the Narcissus family deserves more extensive cultivation than it enjoys at present. It is a native of South Africa, and has large bulbs—3 to 4 inches or more deep—with thickish, silky-woollen coats, and strap-shaped leaves, usually 12 to 18 inches long. About August and September, the sweet-scented funnel-shaped blossoms of a soft rosy colour (see [Plate 31], fig. 111) are produced on top of a stout stalk, 12 to 18 inches high, after the foliage has withered. Some varieties are better than others, but the best of all is that which originated at Kew, and is remarkable for having three or four dozen rich rosy crimson flowers on a scape 2 to 3 feet high.
The Belladonna Lily can only be grown satisfactorily in the open air in the milder parts of the kingdom. The bulbs should be planted about 9 inches deep in a well-drained loamy soil containing plenty of sand and leaf-soil. Beneath a wall facing due south is generally a good position for the plants. In winter, cold rains should be kept off by placing a layer of leaves or litter over the dormant bulbs. The simplest way to increase the stock is to detach the offsets from the old bulbs whenever the latter are disturbed—say every fourth or fifth year.